An active ingredient based on a mixture of unsaturated dioic acids, comprising the octadec-9-ene-1,18-dicarboxylic acid (HO(O)C(CH2)7CH═CH(CH2)7C(O)OH)) as the major component, hereinafter referred to the octadecene dioic acid (C18), has already been used in cosmetics, primarily as a skin lightening agent. It has also been described as anti-wrinkles or anti-oxidant. Medical treatments have also been described, including treatment of acne, rosacea, lentigo, dermatosis including hyperpigmentary dermatosis, eczema, impetigo, antimicrobial or deodorant.
All the prior arts refer to the same biotechnological process for producing a mixture of unsaturated dioic acids, comprising the octadecene dioic acid, which is disclosed in the WO94/07837 document. This method involves the biotransformation of a mixture of fatty acids (comprising mainly oleic acid), by a yeast strain, for example of the Candida genus, in particular Candida cloacae, which transforms the ω-methyl group of the fatty acid into a carboxyl group, thus creating a dioic acid with the same chain length and insaturations as the starting unsaturated acid. A parasitic desaturase activity present in the yeast is also observed in this manufacturing process. The resulting amount of C18 dioic acid with two or more insaturations (that is to say for example the octadecadiene dioic acid or the octadecatriene dioic acid) is increased by comparison with the initial mixture. The manufacturing process provides a mixture containing about 60% of octadecene dioic acid, about 35% of other C18 dioic acids containing two or more insaturations and about 5% of untransformed monocarboxylic acids. This mixture is sold under the trademark Arlatone DIOIC DCA™ by CRODA Company.
The cosmetics and dermatology industries are always in demand for new ingredients, especially, more performing, less expensive in terms of manufacturing and/or acting on a broader range of activities. The present invention aims to meet this demand.